


Stressed

by YellowAndVeritablyBonaFide



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Age Regression, Daddy!Arthur, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, cgl, little!merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:01:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22669732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YellowAndVeritablyBonaFide/pseuds/YellowAndVeritablyBonaFide
Summary: With Merlin stressed about his exams, he's very tense which leads to something he feels very guilty about.(This contains age regression so if you don’t like that then please don’t feel obliged to read it)
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 105
Collections: The Escapades of Little!Merlin and his Caregiver!Arthur





	Stressed

**Author's Note:**

> I've written this over many weeks and I don’t really know what’s happened in it because I haven’t proof read any of it 😬
> 
> Basically, I don’t know what I wrote and I’m sorry in advance.
> 
> Age regression is basically where two people role play as adult and child (typically due to mental trauma through childhood). It’s not something I’m into personally so I might not get everything completely accurate, but I feel it works very well with Merthur.

“Daddyyyy,” Merlin whines. He trudges up to where Arthur is stood in the kitchen stirring the pasta they’re having tonight.

Arthur looks at the tired boy and wraps and arm around him. His poor baby has dark circles under his eyes from all the stress he’s been under recently. He has an important test coming up for his masters in molecular biology and the revision has not been going well. He’s been in his pyjamas all day and he clearly hasn’t taken any priority in his hygiene; if Merlin wasn’t so stressed then Arthur would have had him writing lines.

“Oh, baby,” Arthur coos. He hugs Merlin to his side and cups his face with the hand that was previously stirring. He thumbs over his boy’s cheek with a sigh as he notices the sleep below his eyes. “You haven’t washed your face today.”

Merlin’s face glows red and he buries his unwashed face in Arthur’s chest. “Sorry, daddy. I’ve been... busy.” 

Arthur smiles and squeezes Merlin tight to his chest and holds him, closed eyes and everything. When Merlin pulls back, he has tears in his eyes. He’s been craving physical affection but not realising it until just then.

“S’alright, gorgeous,” Arthur smiles. “Dinner is almost ready.”

Arthur tries to go back to cooking - stirring the pasta, then the sauce - but Merlin clings to him steadfastly. He aligns his body to Arthur’s so not a single part of them doesn’t touch. He still doesn’t feel close enough.

“Merlin, baby,” Arthur tries. “I need to move.”

Merlin whines again. “But...” He pushes his face further into Arthur’s chest.

“Do you want dinner?” Arthur ruffles Merlin’s hair then settles it in the tangles, trying to comb through them with his fingers.

Merlin sighs, “Want cuddles.”

“I’ll make you a deal,” Arthur says. “If you let me plate up dinner, then we can eat on the sofa and cuddle to your heart’s content.”

Merlin nods giddily and steps away. He eagerly hands Arthur the colander for the pasta and rushes to get out plates and cutlery. Arthur hides a smile and portions out the food. He picks up both plates and nods for Merlin to go into the living room.

“Where do you want me to sit, love?” Arthur asks as he follows Merlin to the sofa.

“There,” Merlin points to one side of the sofa. He takes a plate out of Arthur’s hand and thanks him for making it.

Arthur sits in his assigned spot, putting his legs up on the rest of the sofa. Merlin sits in between his legs happily, placing his plate on his lap. Arthur sets his food on the arm of the sofa to eat and hold his baby at the same time.

“I take it revision isn’t going well,” Arthur says sympathetically, trailing his fingers over Merlin’s belly where his shirt has ridden up.

Merlin shivers. “There’s just so much stuff to cover and I don’t know any of it!” He complains then shoves a forkful of pasta in his mouth to accentuate his point. 

Arthur tweaks his ear, he’s not a fan of his baby talking badly about himself. “I’m sure that’s not true. You know more than you think and you still have time.”

Merlin sighs, “I just feel like I’m drowning in work.”

“Well, then I’m going to go ahead and say no more work tonight.” Arthur says. Merlin turns around in horror and opens his mouth to argue but Arthur puts a finger to his lips. “It’s late. You’re tired. And I’m your daddy. I only want to best for you.”

Merlin thinks about it. Arthur is right - he’s always right. “Okay...”

“Good,” Arthur decides, picking up the remote to put the telly on The Simpsons. “Eat up and think about what you want to do after.”

They watch TV and eat and cuddle. Merlin is almost relieved from his stress completely.

•

“Can we watch a movie?” Merlin asks after a moments hesitation after finishing his food.

“Of course,” Arthur replies. He stands from his place on the sofa and picks up the plates from dinner. “What film are you thinking of?”

“Um... Split? The one with James McAvoy.” Merlin says, a little anxiously. He’s heard it’s very good but it sounds quite scary.

Arthur raises his eyebrows slightly. “Baby, that’s a grown up horror film. Are we not feeling little?”

Merlin shakes his head slowly; avoiding eye contact at all cost. Merlin feels a little guilty. He’s been pushing it away all day and now he feels uncomfortable about going into little space when he’s been so focused on resisting. “I don’t know.”

“Alright, I’ll help you.” Arthur smiles sympathetically, leaving the room to put the plates in the dishwasher.

“Okay, daddy.” Merlin calls as he watches Arthur’s back disappear round the doorway.

When Arthur steps back into the room, he’s had time to go through his mental list of things to help littles into little space that he read about a while ago. “How do you feel about having a bubble bath?”

“Yeah!” Merlin brightens and he immediately seems lighter. “With lots of bubbles!”

“And duckies?” Arthur says, poking Merlin’s sides playfully.

Merlin can barely talk through his giggles, “Yeah!”

“Okay, baby, but I have a very important job for you first,” Arthur explains, pretending to be very serious. Merlin nods emphatically. “While I run your bath, I need you to get all the pillows and blankets that we have and set them up on the sofa for when we watch the movie. Can you do that for daddy?”

Merlin grins, “Yes! I can do that.” He runs off in the direction of his bedroom while Arthur heads to the bathroom to make a soup of bubbles and squeaky ducks.

Arthur begins to run the bath, spilling in quite a lot of bubble bath. He collects all of Merlin’s rubber ducks (of various colours) and chucks them in as well. It’s warm, verging in hot and perfect for Merlin.

When Merlin bounces into the room - proudly stating that he’s finished his job - the bath is ready.

“Okay, honey, I’ll be in the living room if you need me,” Arthur hums as he shuts the door, leaving it slightly ajar for Merlin’s comfort.

•

Arthur kneels in front of where Merlin is sat in his underwear on the bed, poised with a bear onesie at Merlin’s feet. 

“One foot in,” Arthur counts, putting Merlin’s foot through one leg. “Two foot in, then pull!” Arthur exaggerates the effort of pulling the fabric up Merlin’s legs which makes him giggle. 

Merlin stands and Arthur kneels upright so he can use his shoulders to balance with. “One arm in, two arm in and zip!” Arthur smiles, standing up to carefully do it up without nicking Merlin’s gorgeously soft skin.

Arthur’s face takes one of confusion. Merlin frowns and worries his lip, wondering what could be wrong.

“Where’s my wonderful baby boy gone?” Arthur asks, looking around the room with wide eyes.

Merlin’s frown deepens. “Daddy, I’m right here!”

Arthur looks back to him, “But I only see a cute little bear!” He says, tickling Merlin’s belly briefly.

“Roar!” Merlin laughs, relieved, “Daddy! Don’t scare me like that.”

“Scare you?” Arthur asks, “That roar was terrifying!”

Arthur carefully smooths out the material over his chest and down his sides and a small part of Arthur’s brain says that it should be the other way around. Merlin loves this bit the best - the bit where Arthur touches him all slow and gentle and he feels most loved.

“Alright, lovely, bear with me here,” Arthur smirks, pulling the hood up and over Merlin’s eyes so the embroidered bear’s eyes cover Merlin’s own.

When Merlin slips the hood up to delicately sit on his head, he has a face that says he is absolutely not amused. One hundred percent not funny. Well, only partly but Daddy can’t know.

“You’re insufferable,” Merlin mopes.

“I think you mean unbearable,” Arthur laughs, so wonderfully pleased with himself.

Merlin huffs and crosses his arms because that was a good one.

“Oh, cheer up, baby,” Arthur laughs, briefly tickling Merlin’s chin. “I cannot bear to see you like this!”

Merlin sighs dramatically while Arthur laughs himself out of the room. Merlin turns to his full body mirror to check he is sufficiently cute before following Arthur.

Merlin sits on the sofa, waiting patiently for Arthur to get back from the kitchen. He’s very happy with his little set up - he’s currently gripping onto his favourite blanket that he’s had since he was young. It’s threadbare but he couldn’t love it more; it’s baby blue and decorated with pink cow faces. Arthur bought him a new one that’s similar and very pretty, but it’s not the same (though he’s got it laid out beneath him).

When Arthur walks back into vision, he’s grinning and holding something behind his back. “What do you call a bear with no teeth?”

Merlin laughs, “I would call him a dentist.”

Arthur chuckles, rolling his eyes, “A gummy bear!” He proffers a bowl of said sweet. He’s so proud of himself and Merlin can’t help but to dissolve into giggles.

Merlin tucks himself under Arthur’s arm as they settle on the sofa. Arthur takes the remote from the table while Merlin busies himself with sorting out blankets and pillows.

Arthur takes this moment to fully appreciate Merlin’s onesie; mostly the fact that he’s really the only one who sees Merlin like this. “You look so precious in your jammies,” Arthur smirks, booping Merlin’s nose.

Merlin buries his face in Arthur’s chest to cover his blush. Arthur chuckles at him.

“Alright, baby, what are we watching?” Arthur asks, scrolling through Netflix.

“Beauty and the Beast?” Merlin asks warily. He’s never sure if Arthur only puts up with Merlin’s choice of film rather than enjoying them, so is always self conscious about his picks. “The 1991 one.”

Arthur nods, typing it in the search bar with the date. “Of course, baby.”

Only a few minutes into the film, Merlin coughs then turns to Arthur, “Drink, please?”

Arthur knows he’s fully into Little Space, now. “Alright, baby bear, but you have to use your big boy words.”

Merlin pouts, blushing. Arthur pauses the TV so that Merlin can’t be distracted by it.

“Can I have some milk, please, daddy?” Merlin asks with his biggest smile.

Arthur gets up, unraveling himself from the blankets. “Of course you can, bear,” Arthur says, unpausing the TV so Merlin can continue watching it.

Arthur comes back with Merlin’s milk after a moment, immediately wrapping his arm around Merlin to keep him close.

•

It gets to scene where Belle enters the library when Merlin falls asleep. He becomes a dead weight against Arthur’s shoulder and it’s wonderful. Arthur should be responsible and take Merlin to bed, but he can’t help but relish the feeling of the moment. He wants Merlin to do this more. He wants to go to sleep with Merlin more. He wants Merlin.

He couldn’t do that to the boy.

Merlin needs stability in his life. If Arthur were to ask him out and he said no, it would make them both uncomfortable. What if Merlin were to move out? Where would he live? What would happen to his schoolwork? Surely the stress would cause him to fail.

On that note, he unfolds himself from the boy and picks him up to put him to bed. When he does get Merlin into bed, he takes a minute to track the breaths of the sleeping boy. He looks so peaceful like this. So wonderfully calm - unburdened by the qualms of life.

With a sigh, he departs, switching off the light and closing the door. Merlin hasn’t brushed his teeth, but it doesn’t matter.

•

Arthur wakes in a panic. His door slamming woke him up and now there’s something in his bed. He hurries to flick his bedside lamp on and does so whilst managing to send his water bottle flying to the ground. He blinks as his eyes try to focus on the shaking, pale body next to him.

“Merlin?” Arthur asks, not really sure if he’s hallucinating. “What’s wrong?”

“Nightmare,” Merlin says, cuddling up to Arthur as much as he can.

“You okay? You need to talk about it?” Arthur asks, trying to see if Merlin has been crying.

Merlin sniffs. Yes, he’s been crying. “No. Need you.”

Arthur relaxes and turns the lamp off again, settling back down with Merlin in his arms. It takes a moment for his mind to adjust, but Merlin feels different somehow. Maybe he seems warmer or thinner or something. Arthur puts the thought aside and tries to calm his racing heart from the sudden awakening.

But then it clicks and he shoves Merlin away from himself. “Are you naked?”

“What? No! I have underwear on.” Merlin cries, scrambling to stay in bed without falling off.

“Oh,” Arthur whispers. He can’t get the feeling of skin on skin out of his head. “Put this on,” Arthur says, giving him one of his neatly ironed sleep tops. He puts one on himself.

Merlin takes a second to look at Arthur, to feel the burn of embarrassment, to think of a million reasons why Arthur would be too disgusted to touch him. Arthur doesn’t see, his face in his shirt as he pulls it over his head. Merlin puts the top over his own head and lies down at the edge of the bed, trying to think of an excuse to leave.

“Come here, then,” Arthur instructs softly, pulling Merlin to his chest and resettling. 

Merlin goes, completely pliant, to Arthur. He feels sick and unwanted and absolutely awful. So he waits. He waits until Arthur’s breathing evens out and his grip loosens. He slips out of the bed, cursing the slight creaks of the springs. He pads out of the room to the kitchen and sits at the little table, thinking.

Thinking is never a good idea. Never. Not one single time has thinking been good for Merlin when he’s like this. The sting of rejection courses through him. The kitchen tiles are cold on his feet. 

The kitchen is quiet - never silent - the fridge buzzes a soothing lullaby and the tap doesn’t quite stop dripping. Soft rain patters against the window, pleading for Merlin’s attention. He looks towards the curtains when the wind changes and causes the raindrops to thrash against the window. He sighs. Of course.

His temples ache with hurt. He hasn’t felt this way since he was young; since he found out his dad had fled from him and his mother. To this day, he feels that maybe if he were never born then his dad would still be here with his mum. Hunith would be happy, not the isolated soul Merlin knows her to be. He tries to visit lots because he knows that, despite having loads of friends and hobbies and social gatherings, she still gets lonely. Friends aren’t quite the same as a husband or a child. 

Merlin bites his lip. He hasn’t even called since last week - what if something has happened to her? His hand goes to his pocket immediately only to remember that his phone is still is his room. He had a nightmare then ran to Arthur for support and got rejected. That’s why his feet are cold.

•

“Merlin?” Arthur asks, rubbing his eyes. “When did you get up?”

“Not long ago,” Merlin lies. He could hardly say that the thought of sleep causes a feeling of dread to rush up his throat like vomit.

Arthur wanders up to where Merlin is making coffee and touches his back while looking over his shoulder to see that he’s making one mug. Merlin freezes under the touch, his heart lurching out of his chest.

“Can I have some, please, baby?” Arthur asks, standing back (thankfully) and taking a seat at the kitchen table.

Merlin quickly stirs in some milk and turns around. “This is yours.” He decides, suddenly not feeling very much like having breakfast.

“Oh, thank you,” Arthur smiles sleepily.

Merlin can’t stand the sight. How dare he look like that? All cute and sweet. What a asshole. So he escapes to his bedroom to change.

•

“I’m going out with Gwen. I’m having dinner at her’s and I think I’ll probably stay over,” Merlin calls to Arthur, who is on the sofa, the door already open.

Arthur jumps up and jogs over with a frown on his face. “Woah, woah, woah! This is the first I’ve heard of this.” He puts on his stern face, but Merlin remains unaffected.

“I don’t have to tell you everything!” Merlin snaps and rushes out of the door, slamming it behind him.

He rushes down the steps of their apartment building, his anger refilling with regret. He can’t breathe until he opens the door and the cool air rushes to his face.

•

Gwen is a voice of rationale so when Merlin finishes recounting what he did, she laughs. Merlin gets very stroppy when he hasn’t slept - she’s experienced this firsthand. That’s not to say that his feelings are invalid (because it sounds like a dick move to shove him out of bed) but Arthur doesn’t know what he did. 

“Just apologise, I’m sure it’s fine,” Gwen says, laying a reassuring hand on his shoulder as they walk around Primark.

“But, Gwen... I feel really bad,” Merlin complains, his heart taking the weight of his snappish goodbye.

“Then ask for a punishment.” Gwen faces him with stern eyes.

Merlin’s eyebrows raise and his mouth hangs open for a second before he shushes Gwen, nervously looking around the place to see if anyone heard.

“Gwen!” He whispers, “You are out of your mind.”

Gwen plays with the curls of her hair distractedly. “Look, you feel bad. You want him to forgive you. Ask for a punishment. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“It might not be to you, Gwen, but it is to me. What if he’s still angry? What if he wants to hurt me?” Merlin reasons, knowing that what he said is completely unlike Arthur.

Gwen fixes him with a glare, “Firstly, you don’t believe any of that. Secondly, we both know Arthur would rather eat his own eyeballs than see you hurt. If he did want to use pain, he’d spank you and - again - we both know you’d like that.”

Merlin scowls but can only agree. She’s absolutely correct. He has a guilty conscience and wants to make it up to Arthur. He feels a little better after his decision so they continue shopping around town.

“We should go in there,” Gwen says, pointing towards the pink sign of Victoria’s Secret.

Merlin shakes his head immediately, a blush covering his face. “But that’s for girls!” He whispers.

Gwen laughs, “Merlin, you’re closer to a girl than Morgana.”

Morgana, the person who introduced him to Arthur in the first place. Since Merlin became friends with Gwen in high school, he also became friends with Morgana who brought Arthur along with them to hang out. Merlin has always been intrigued by Morgana. She defies all expectations and completely runs her own life. It’s admirable.

“Besides,” Gwen continues, already walking towards the shop. “You want a bralette.”

•

It turns out that shopping in a lingerie shop is difficult. Pretty things are not that comfortable and Merlin has discovered a love for lace. He’s in a cubicle with Gwen at the moment, trying to put on a black lace bralette. 

“And... done!” Gwen announces, making sure everything is in the right place.

Gwen herself is in a new bra that she’s intending on buying. As the pair go, they don’t really have any boundaries. 

Merlin turns his attention to the mirror and his breath catches in his throat. He’s not normally so happy about his appearance. He looks fucking sexy. Most of it is sheer but there are black rose decals that cover his nipples. The black contrasts with his pale skin immensely and he has the ethereal aura of a vampire. 

“You have to get it,” Gwen says, seeing how Merlin rolls his shoulders back and suddenly becomes this confident person she’d only seen a few times before. “You look amazing.”

“I do,” Merlin declares, feeling down his sides and doing little twirls. “But I don’t have enough money to waste on things like this.”

“Treat yourself, Merlin. Please. Just this once.” Gwen says, looking at Merlin’s sad little face reflected in the mirror.

“My only income is from my bursary,” Merlin argues.

Gwen continues mercilessly, “You don’t pay rent, you have forty quid to spend on something you’ve wanted for ages that you know you’ll wear all the time.” 

“Fine, Gwen,” Merlin sighs with a smile. “You’ve convinced me.”

“If you go home and want more, then you just have to call me and we can come back. Or, since you have your size, just order them online. It’s a little tricky sometimes with the sizing but is probably fine.” Gwen says.

Merlin doesn’t really listen, too busy admiring himself. He does so until Gwen urges him to get dressed so they could go get Greggs for lunch.

“And on the money front... I bet Arthur would buy you more. He’ll be so into this.” 

Merlin looks to Gwen with a horrified expression. “We are not together! He doesn’t like me like that...”

Gwen sighs exasperatedly, “He does like you, you’re just blind.”

“And you’re just imagining things.” 

•

Merlin asked Gwen to drop him off home after lunch. So, he stands quietly with his keys in his apartment lock while plucking up the courage to turn it and open the door. He counts down in his head from five, intending to open it on one but instead does it on three. He enters the apartment with the stealth of a drunk toddler, almost knocking the key bowl to the floor. He catches it just in time but the noise attracts Arthur’s attention.

Arthur saunters over to Merlin with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. He’s dressed himself in his usual attire of jeans and a top (a gorgeous blue that brings out his eyes). He opens his mouth to say something but Merlin cuts him off.

“Daddy, please can I have a punishment?”

Arthur takes a step back in surprise with an utterly confused expression. “Baby, I’m not mad.” He uncrosses his arms and relaxes his body.

Merlin looks at the floor with a red face, shuffling on the spot. “Please punish me.”

Arthur sighs, finally walking towards him, “Do you think you deserve a punishment?”

Merlin nods miserably and Arthur hugs him to his chest.

“Alright, then, lovely.” Arthur says, rubbing slow circles onto his back. “Do you have an apology? Or, at least, an explanation of why I am to punish you?”

Merlin pulls away. “I want to say... sorry,” He clears his throat. “Um, sorry for snapping at you this morning. And for lying.”

“You lied to me?” Arthur asks in shock.

Merlin nods, “You asked me when I got up and I said only recently before you did. But the truth is that I was up all night.”

“You were up all night? Why?” Arthur asks, trying to remember what happened last night.

Merlin stays quiet, fiddling with his hands. 

Arthur remembers.

“Oh...” Arthur freezes; he’s stuck between wanting to comfort Merlin and rip his own eyeballs out. He hurt Merlin deeply. What was he thinking pushing him out of bed?

Merlin wraps his arms around himself and bites his lip. This is absolute torture. Arthur shouldn’t have to feel bad because it was Merlin that violated his personal space.

Arthur takes a deep, shaky breath before he starts. “Merlin... I—“

“I have to go to the bathroom.” Merlin interupts. Seeing Arthur struggle is not something that he can stand to see.

He rushes to the bathroom, glad for the cool air when he gets inside. Locking the door, he stands in the middle of the room. This is not going the way he wants it to. This is awful. He’s so stupid to think that Arthur would react like he should. How should he react? Merlin didn’t even have time to think about what he wants Arthur to say. He’s too sweet for this. Merlin is putting him in a weird position. He puts his fingers to his temples and rubs while pacing the floor. He jumps at the sound of a knock at the door.

“Merls... I know you’re just pacing,” Arthur says. “Come out so I can hug you and properly apologise.”

Merlin hesitates; he gets the feeling that he’s hiding, that he needs to stay quiet so he’s not found out. His heart leaps. “You don’t need to say sorry.”

Merlin can hear Arthur sigh on the other side of the door. “Merlin. I pushed you out of bed after you had just had a nightmare that was so awful you needed me. You needed me and I pushed you away.”

“It’s not your fault. I invaded your personal space. It’s okay.” Merlin says, pleading with Arthur.

“Merlin, it’s not okay. You don’t see it because you’re just so goddamn precious.” 

Merlin catches sight of himself in the mirror; his cheeks are bright pink and he can just see the black straps of the bralette he bought through his white shirt. He loves it so much so he paid for it then changed back into it in the Greggs bathroom. He kind of regrets is now. What if Arthur sees?

“Arthur, it’s fine. I’m not mad about it. I just want my punishment so we can forget about it.” Merlin explains, unlocking the door to pull it open.

Arthur stands still, now facing Merlin with a blank face. “You called me Arthur.”

“I didn’t mean—“

“No. You called me Arthur.”

“I’m not in sub space.” Merlin reasons.

“You never call me Arthur. You still call me daddy in big space.”

“Daddy... I’m sorry.” Merlin whines, falling into Arthur’s arms. “Daddy, please, I didn’t mean to. Please.”

Arthur wraps his arms around Merlin, squeezing him tightly. “That’s alright, baby.”

“Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy.” Merlin chants into Arthur’s neck, relishing in the word.

Arthur bathes in his nickname, adoring the way it falls from his baby’s mouth. The feel of him in him arms. The feel of his breath on his neck. The feel of something under his shirt?

“Merls... what are you wearing?” Arthur asks, feeling Merlin’s back.

Merlin pulls back immediately. “Um. Uh. Nothing. Nothing at all.”

“Really? Because it feels like a bra.” Arthur smirks. “Did you get that when you were out with Gwen, little one?”

Merlin blushes, immediately reduced to subspace. He nods shyly, playing with the hem of the shirt.

“Do you, uh... do you wanna show me?” Arthur asks. “Please? For daddy.”

Merlin blushes fiercely and nods. He begins to pull his shirt over his head slowly. He looks to Arthur for reassurance before pulling it off over his head.

Arthur’s pupils dilate and he physically has to restrain himself from just kissing Merlin’s face off. He couldn’t do that to him. So he takes a breath in and relaxes.

“You look so pretty, baby boy.” Arthur says, strained.

Merlin giggles, “Thank you!” He does a little twirl for his daddy to show off his new favourite item of clothing.

“Did you get any other ones?”

“No,” Merlin pouts, “They’re really expensive.”

“I’ll buy you some more,” Arthur finds himself saying. In truth, he’d spend everything he has on Merlin if it meant he was happy.

“You don’t have to, one is enough. But thank you, daddy.”

Arthur hums, “I don’t know about that. I think we need a third opinion.”

Merlin scrunches his face up, “Who?”

Arthur smiles his evil smile. “The tickle monster!”

Arthur runs forward and wraps his arms around Merlin, erratically jabbing his fingers into his sides. Merlin shrieks and wriggles in Arthur’s arms. They both laugh and fight which makes them laugh more. Arthur stops tickling him to pick him up and spin him around. Merlin squeals. They end up with Merlin all wrapped up in Arthur’s arms with his hands on Arthur’s shoulders.

“I think that’s enough punishment for now, baby,” Arthur smirks. “Let’s just chill out for the rest of the day.”

Arthur gives Merlin a squeeze before reluctantly letting go but his hand slides down Merlin’s arm to link their fingers together.

  
“Let’s go watch a film,” Arthur says, leading them to the living room. “I’ll make popcorn.”


End file.
